God damn. I get a semi every time you post a pics of those manifolds.

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But he's thriving and striving and hugging the turns.

JC, thanks man, makes me feel good knowing i`ve given you a semi (in a not so homosexual way tho)

& Mokesta, I know what you`re talking about & i agree, we were a little bit pushed for time for the Muster a couple of years ago & i really didn`t expect that we`d have it ready in time anyways, but as it was actually running & driving in the "test Mule" i figured that i might as well just drive it there & see if many people realise what it is,--> both the engine & the car

I just love the "RAT" look tho... There`s a sticker on the back of an old "Rat" look split window combie down in Byron Bay that says -->"Dig it up & drive it", my mini parked next to it at Main beach is the most photgraphed & videod cars in Byron, people just love em But, the "Average" mini person walks past my mini without knowing what it actually is because it`s just a bag of sh!t looking thing

This next engine that`s in the moke now will be the real test of my marketing skills, it`s really a sweet car all round, very clean, neat & tidy, lots of "Bling" so it should show off quite well. The paint is absolutely tops, the roll cage is awsome, the appolstery is all sweet, big phat mag wheels & a little something quite special under the bonnet,,, it really will go even better than it looks tho,,, even the engine bay will be neat when it`s finished & the engine bay is usually what lets a car down at shows....

Sooo,,, i`m working on that side of things & i`ll be making my Monaco the pinnacle. Full compliment of woodgrain & leather appolstery, big sound system with MP3 player & motha amp & speakers, (not that i`m a boof-tish head at all but the young people tend to like it) & also Air conditioning, remote electric windows & central door locking etc etc etc,,, all the luxuries you`d expect to see in a very modern car, yet still retaining the good old skool classic mini appeal. Maybe i`ll be able to change some peoples minds about how daggy i am once these few cars are finished.

My dad instilled the "Make sure it`s solid mechanically" part in me since i was a kid , but he`s never thrown weight onto how a mini looks at all, he never really concerned himeself with what other people think about the looks of his minis, they went harder & handled better than anyones & lasted the longest & that`s what meant more to him than anything, but i`ve allways wanted the whole package with them looking sweet too,,, it just takes time & i can see why he never bothered to spend that time, if he did then he wouldn`t have had time to go racing or build up his mini business. Now i`m finding that same problem too, but i can assure you & everyone that i`m aiming at making all my cars look as good as they go now... it just takes time.

Dad & i have had many many arguments over the lack of attention to appearance details over the years that i worked for him, now it`s taken me about 15 odd years of working for myself to get over that mind set that he installed into me. That is all changing now but it just means it takes longer & costs more, but the end result justifies the means... dad still hasn`t quite got that yet. (sadly)

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Hey Matt, I was trying to find your place one day a year and a half ago to pick up a flywheel from you, and I got totally lost and stopped in at a gyprock factory nearby for directions. This (totally - totally awesome) girl behind the counter said she knew you from old skool and got all hot under the collar thinking about you and all your bloody minis.

I remember you got all hot and bothered (when I told you) thinking about a random girl getting all flustered in a factory office nearby as well

This wouldn't be her would it? Cos if it is you owe me a massive discount on one of these BMW contraptions of yours...


By the way...there's one thing I know in life and any work I do..with all things involving personal perception, the first bite is always with the eye.
It doesn't matter how much time and effort and engineering and excellence you put into something, someone will always comment on the blardy paint
So you have to work with it or lose the interest.

It's getting more difficult to convince me to leave the 1275LS all unmolested now after seeing all this fantastic work..

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

No Mick, i wish it was now, i remember you saying something like that back then,,,where is that Gyprock business???

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Not far from the gateway bridge..

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Great , now the twin cam conversion kits will never get done ....

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Oh i`m working my cute little butt off Sports850, don`t you worry about that,,, I would much rather be chasing pretty little girls mind you,,, but unless they`re millionairs & are going to pay for all this Bimmer Twinky stuff & all my mini racing then there`s no point hey (ok, maybe not that there`s no point because i can think of at lease one good reason why i should be chasing pretty young chicks, but i`ll save that for another web forum )

-->in fact i`ll show you just some of the recent progress here if not just to give JC another semi-on

Down pipe for N/A extractors with Jig--->


Those N/A extractors & the Jig to suit-->


The Turbo manifold & the Jig to keep making them en-mass-->


The big bundle of manifolds, Jigs, Turbos, Inlet Plenums etc etc etc ,,, all on the boil at the moment--->


soooo,,,, as you can see,,, i`m definately not slacking off,,, add to that all the Bimmer Twinky engine conversion kits being punched out with the CNC machine ATM ...& all the ECU wiring looms being made right now,,,, & all the fiddly bits & pieces for things like water outlets, eng steady bar brakts, bottom rad hose/pipes, top rad brakets, oil fillers, engine breather & oil drain kits, oil feed to cyl head & turbo hoses, fittings etc etc etc

well i would definately much rather be chasing chicks, but as you can see, there`s a little TOO much happening at the moment, now add to all that all the normal customers jobs to do (i have 3 normal A series engines on & 2 crash repair minis & a few cyl head porting jobs & then all this christmas thing goin on as well AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! help!!!!

Fighting off alligators is a full time job should have just drained the swap years ago instead

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

i was asking about a standard NA head conversion kit.

Thanks.

Miniboo, i havn`t a price on them yet, i`ll have them finished early in the new year & i`m working on all the fiddly things that will help to complete the conversion for those who don`t want to make up their own oil filler, drains, breathers, rad brakets, top & bottom rad hoses etc right now, so i`ll have a "Basic" fitting kit consisting of all the plates, flanges, pulleys, pulley bosses, timing belt & tensioner & all the oil seals etc,,, then there will be an "Accessory" kit for all the other stuff listed as fiddly things above to compliment the basic kit & then all the inlet & exhaust system options that i`ve shown in previous post with extractors & turbo manifolds & inlet plenums & ECUs & wiring looms to add to the confusion

so, as you can see, there is a bit too much happening & it`s still a little too early to be able to put a final figure on it all just yet

I am hoping to keep the basic conversion kit under $1600 mark tho, so fingers crossed everyone should have avaliabilty of a locally produced value for money Bimmer Twinky cyl head conversion kit very shortly

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

I'm spent.

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But he's thriving and striving and hugging the turns.

It was good for me too John, (lighting up a cigy now)

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

Any more progress with these?

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1970 Mini Deluxe - 1275, Weber, Clive 346 cam, MS 4-pot slotted discs, Megajolt ignition Now with new improved Mambas... almost on the road
1966 Van with Traveller rear seat conversion
2008 Prado GXL
All in various states of repair...

The turbo Bimmer Twinky moke is nearly ready, just finishing up the inlet system, intercooler plumbing etc,,, the sequential compouter is all wired in & ready,,, just have to finish off a few fiddly things & make up the rest of the exhaust system from the dump pipe back.

the small bore donk that we`re doing has been bored & the block modified ready for a twinky head,,, the cyl head for that one has been over hauled & the pistons are ready to go in

I`m just doing my usual thing running around like a chicken with it`s head cut off,,, Been building walls under my house,,, new frames, chamfer boards, double hung windows & french doors etc,,,one of my dogs going to vet for cruciat ligament opperation,,, i`m off to the docs for a throat infection,,,, too much surfing,squash & mountain bike riding happening to make things move any quicker

sorry,

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No offence intended here but--> anyone writing a book about minis 30 years ago may not have experienced such worn or stuffed-with components as we are finding these days.

You should put your heart & soul into everything you do.

More pics

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Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

Including those new sexy wheels with tyres on

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"In two years time your car will be like a lady's clothes, out of date, my car will still be in fashion when I am dead" - Sir Alec speaking to Pininfarina